Timothy Olson on the Rise

This twentysomething upstart could be on the verge of a breakthrough year

Timothy Olson runs through the Marin Headlands north of San Francisco en route to fourth place in the Gore-Tex 50-Mile Championship at The North Face Endurance Challenge on Dec. 4.

As Timothy Olson ripped through the Bandera 100K course in January, he and his wife shared a smile at each aid station. That faint moment every 5-6 miles when their eyes locked and lips opened into a warm smile might have been mistaken for young love. Or maybe it was excitement that he was racing so well. After all, he was on his way to winning the U.S. 100K trail championship. But Timothy and Krista held a secret that day, one that made them incredibly happy, and he was using it as strength to push himself harder than ever before.

The couple is expecting their first child in August. In December, as Timothy was finishing fourth in the talent-rich field at The North Face 50-mile championship in San Francisco, Krista was running her first ultra, the 50K at the same event. Afterwards, friend Brett Rivers said, “Tim seemed more proud and pumped with her finish than his own.” The next day her pregnancy was confirmed. A month later, thrilled with the life challenge ahead, Timothy rode a wave of adrenaline for 62 miles at Bandera to finish first in 8:28.

Growing up in North Central Wisconsin’s Tomorrow Valley, Olson knew that his tomorrow wouldn’t be in the Badger State. He was just two hours from runner-friendly Madison, but Amherst, Wis., a town of just over 1,000 people, was a world away. Seeking adventure, Olson tramped across America and discovered Oregon’s Rogue Valley on one of those road trips. Falling spell to the cloud-covered mountains, he started working in construction in Ashland. Locals Hal Koerner and Ian Torrence welcomed him on increasingly longer runs and soon, the adventures he had while crisscrossing the U.S. were replaced by those on the trails.

In 2009, Olson took sixth in his first 50K and a year later won his 100-mile debut. Last year’s Western States 100 was his first true breakthrough. It’s often the case in ultrarunning that each year’s race is increasingly more competitive than the last, and Western States was no exception. Against an international field, Olson challenged for the lead early on and ran from Squaw Valley to Auburn, Calif., in 16:18 to finish sixth.

Training twice a day to total as much as 150 miles per week, his success was hardly an accident, or even a surprise to those that have seen his rapid move to the sport’s elite.

“I’m here to love and serve with an open heart to all,” he says on his webpage. The 28-year-old hardly sounds like a fierce competitor, but part of the curriculum at the Ashland School of Massage Therapy encouraged self-reflection.

“Rather than trying to fit into something that I wasn’t, I really learned who I am, grew up, and became comfortable with myself,” Olson says clearly and with confidence. Speaking from behind four years of long blonde hair, he doesn’t talk about achieving a higher consciousness, inner peace, or Zen, but really understands “the connection to body and how it impacts running and racing.”

Olson’s young, open-minded, and perhaps most importantly, humble enough to know that he has “a lot to figure out” when it comes to ultrarunning. Not content to simply maintain his current form, he says that he can keep improving by “learning from talented people like Hal [Koerner] and [Pearl Izumi teammate] Nick Clark.”

He knows racing 100 miles is about more than loading up on 20 pounds of unnecessary gear and pounding a grip of food somewhere in the middle.

“I work hard in everything I do, and I’m really excited now that I have the confidence to race with anyone,” Olson says about 2012. He’ll test his limits in Washington’s Chuckanut 50K on March 17. The country’s largest 50K, and one of the country’s largest ultras with an anticipated 1,000 runners this year, the 20th annual race is as competitive as it is big. Veteran ultrarunners like Dave Mackey and Mike Wolfe will race against Olympic trials marathoners like Max King and Sage Canaday. Although early in his build toward the summer’s goal races (he plans three 100-mile races from June to September), Olson looks to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish at Chuckanut.

Tim Olson moved to Ashland, Ore., four years ago. As a small-business owner, he grew into the more formal Timothy Allen Olson. He won a national championship in January and this August, he’ll become a father. After our initial phone conversation ended, Olson immediately called me back, excited to relay on some more news in what’s already a big year. His enthusiasm running so high that he can barely get the words out, he tells me that in late September, he and his wife will direct the inaugural Enchanted Forest Wine Run Half Marathon in southern Oregon. Timothy Olson is maturing and getting faster, but he’s still a wide-eyed twentysomething chasing adventures. And this year will be his biggest yet.